Rainy Sunday afternoons. Hot cups of tea. Pure boredom. It's been 45 days since my last trip to the hills. I confess that I have wet the line many time over the last few days. But nothing compares to the thrill of a mahseer, no matter how big or small, at the end of your line. So, what else can a grounded angler do except go through some old pictures. And try and relive magic moments.

Here are some pictures of our last trip. It was another rushed trip because words was that the fish were throwing themselves at you. Over three days we saw more than 100 fish caught. Approximately 40 by us, three and a half rods, and the rest by the local on chilwa and atta.

Mken, you could do wonders with a sonar fitted on the boat in deep water like that. Imagine dropping a jig to a shoal of mahseer down deep!

Bops

The IA shoppe is open!!! hahahaahahaha

We did try a sonar once and spotted a lot of fish. The problem is that the lake has been over fished for a longtime now. Since these boats also drop nets the fish now recognise the sound and vibrations and start moving away.

Just going through your pics, the dam you fished resembles Tarbella Dam a lot. Tarbella is built on the Indus River and is Pakistan's biggest water reservoir. Tarbella was famous for its Mahasheer but commercial fishing accompanied by loss of Habitat and silting has cut down the local population drastically.

I have fished the area a number of times over the last couple of areas but usually from Shore, using live bait and only managed to catch common carp and an occasional Mahasheer. Tried spinning but with little success.

The possibility of trying for Mahasheer does exist as we travel via launch to all the spots.

What techniques did u use on this trip (Spinning/Jigging/Bait)? What areas should one look for if one wants to try for Mahasheer from a boat? What time of the year would be best for such an excursion?

Would be great if you could let me in on any info you think would be helpful becoz I think if we get things rite a boat fishing trip to Tarbella would be really great.

I am assuming the place is over fished like all dams in part of the world.

What we look for is straight drop off with ledges near by. This is where the little fish live so the mahseer come up from the deep and feast.

While trolling we use a lot of deep running plugs. They always work. Though some friends insist on shallow running jointed plugs I stay away as I have neve got a hit on these. As for the right colours, it is a question of trial and error.

The places to look for are away from weeds, sand or mud. You need nice clean water with a lot of rocks and boulders.

While trolling vary your speed constantly till you find the right pace. The Fluff up is that this seems to cahnge from area to area and by the minute. so best of luck on this one.

How much line you let out is another question mark. Here people constantly throw food into the water so fish seem to follow boats pretty close in certain places. But I suggest you let out a minimum 50 meters. Balance the drag to the point where the it does not open because of the water resistance. And then wait.

Timings? The Mahseer have none really. Just depends on the weather. I have found that before and after storms is the best time. Or at twilight.

I don't really bait fish at Bhakra. To kill time I sometimes sit and throw a line in for catfish, eel or rohu (yummy). I use atta or a piece of chilwa. and straight on the hook. No weight, no float.

Since it was really hot this time we did sit one afternoon to fish with the locals. We used fresh but dead chilwa around 5 to 7 inches long. I managed one eel that had impaled itself on my hook.

The bearded fellow, Nigel, had a big take and a run from hell, about 100mtr fast. But by the time he shook of his slumber (beer high), got out of the chair, stepped out of the tent, stretched and figured out where his screaming rod the fish had digested and cr*****ed out his bait. hahahahaahahaaah

The bearded fellow, Nigel, had a big take and a run from hell, about 100mtr fast. But by the time he shook of his slumber (beer high), got out of the chair, stepped out of the tent, stretched and figured out where his screaming rod the fish had digested and cr*****ed out his bait. hahahahaahahaaah

Was that on the dead Chilwa.

Eels are really tasty. Its my prefered eating fish. We catch loads of them at Tarbella. The biggest I have seen caught was aprox 1.5kgs. Thought they are rumors of even bigger ones caught.

hey ken how the hell i have missed this one till now. Seriously mate excellent report awesome pictures specially the Mahseer close ups and the water shots. Where were they? when we went.
Shit man I need to catch a big one this year mate

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